Different Individual-Organization Attachments: Exploring Their Meanings between Managers

AbstractThis work investigated Organizational Commitment based on the three component model - affective, normative and continuance - introduced by Meyer and Allen (1991) and two constructs - Organizational Entrenchment and Consent. The objective was analysis of the meaning attributed by managers to three links, exploring their distinct elements. The research was carried out through the use of qualitative analysis of interviews with 20 managers. The interview script investigated personal data and the concepts attributed to each link. Data was submitted to content analysis. Results highlighted that managers have very different conceptual structures for the three constructs. Commitment was considered a positive tie, indicating engagement and motivation. In a different way, entrenchment was related to fear of changing organizations, in that changing jobs risks existing stability. Entrenchment turned out to be an instrumental tie that imprisons the subject and leads to development of a relationship of dependency and accommodation. Consent fit better into the idea of submission to power and authority relationships, and being unsatisfied with work and the organization. In conclusion, the three links are different in conceptual terms and indicate distinctive influence on relationships between individuals and organizations.

摘要 本研究以Meyer与Allen（1991）提出的三成分组织承诺模型——包含情感承诺（affective commitment）、规范承诺（normative commitment）与持续承诺（continuance commitment）——为基础，同时纳入组织固着（Organizational Entrenchment）与顺从（Consent）两个构念，对组织承诺（Organizational Commitment）展开探究。本研究的核心目标为分析管理者赋予三种联结的内涵，并探索其各自独特的构成要素。本研究通过对20名管理者开展访谈并进行质性分析（qualitative analysis）的方式完成，访谈提纲涵盖个人基本信息与各联结对应的概念内涵。研究数据采用内容分析（content analysis）法进行处理。研究结果显示，管理者针对这三种构念的概念框架存在显著差异：组织承诺被视作一种积极联结，体现为个体的工作投入与动机；与之截然不同的是，组织固着与个体对更换工作的恐惧相关联，即更换职业会危及现有的职业稳定性，且该构念属于一种工具性联结，会束缚个体并催生依赖与迁就的关系模式；而顺从则更贴合于服从权力与权威关系、且对工作及组织心怀不满的内涵。综上，这三种联结在概念层面存在本质差异，且对个体与组织间的关系具有截然不同的影响。